Chemokines on the rise : mcp-1 and restenosis.

Mechanisms underlying restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) are important to elucidate, as evidenced by the recent success of monoclonal antibodies to platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa in preventing restenosis.1,2 In this issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, a report by Cipollone et al3 describes the association of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (JE/MCP-1) with restenosis after coronary angioplasty. As discussed below, in view of the biological properties of JE/MCP-1, increased blood levels of this chemokine are likely to represent far more than a simple marker of local vascular disease; rather, we speculate that enhanced expression of JE/MCP-1 provides a window into the pathogenesis of vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) and mononuclear phagocyte (MP) activation, which underlies restenosis.